I stretch and groan before crawling out of my sleeping bag and pulling on a pair of athletic shorts. I unzip the front and wriggle my way out of my small tent.

Kenny is already sitting next to the remnants of last night’s campfire, sipping on a steaming mug of coffee. I help myself to my own cup and take a seat beside him.

“Morning,” I greet.

“How’d you sleep?” Kenny asks, grinning.

“Later than you,” I retort. “Air mattress didn’t live up to the hype?”

Kenny snorts. “No, it was comfortable. Just have a lot of my mind.”

“Yeah.” I sigh. “I know the feeling.”

“I’m sorry about last night. I should have backed you up with Anderson more.” He hesitates. “The truth is…I was curious about it too.”

“It’s fine.” I stare at the pile of charred wood.

We sit in silence until Anderson and Owens stumble out of their own tents. After eating breakfast, we all change into swimsuits and head in the direction of the lake we stumbled across last year. It’s an arduous climb. I embrace the strain of my muscles as I laugh and joke with three of my best friends.

Thoughts of Vivienne finally fade away.

We reach the top of the tallest peak. The lake is spread out before us, glistening in the sunshine. After taking a moment to appreciate the view, we start the trek down the other side toward the water lapping across the shore. As soon as we near the edge of the lake, Anderson drops his gear and starts running toward the shallows. Water sprays everywhere, disturbing the pristine surface, as he submerges himself.

“You’re such a child, dude,” I call, as the rest of us lazily shed our own packs and sneakers.

Anderson just grins, shaking his shaggy head of hair like a dog so that he sends droplets of water flying everywhere.

Owens wades into the water. Kenny and I follow. The water’s just cold enough to be refreshing, and the chilly temperature soothes my tired muscles. We swim out to the small island in the center of the lake and climb ashore, exploring along the craggy rocks and mossy ground.

The sun is shining overhead by the time we swim back to the sandy shore to retrieve our lunch.

I’m spread out on the warm sand, drying off after devouring my sandwich, when Owens says, “I think you should go on a date, Dawson.”

I squint over at him. Anderson and Kenny are back in the water, so it’s just the two of us on shore sunbathing.

“That’s why Anderson keeps bringing her up. He’s worried about you—we all are. You’re not the same. I thought you were just worried about the championship, or getting drafted at first. But it’s not. It’s her.”

I sit up and begin dragging my fingers through the sand. “I don’t want to date another girl,” I admit. “I keep waiting to want to. But I don’t.”

“I get it, Dawson. Well, maybe not totally. Jen and I dated for a couple months and crashed spectacularly. And I barely cared. But I also didn’t want to go through that again, so I just started hooking up with random jersey chasers. But you’re not even doing that, are you?”